Chapter 3007 - Ch: 72-75

Chapter 72 The True Dragon in Xuanwu's Mouth

Hodu walked silently up to Xuanwu, a pile of dead branches and fallen leaves covering the ground under his feet.

With a press of his sole, a crisp cracking sound immediately echoed outward.

Xuanwu opened its eyes on the spot.

It swept its gaze around, seeing no figures at all, but the vigilance in its eyes did not decrease in the slightest.

The next moment, it couldn't even be bothered to look more, scratching with all four paws, its body instantly burrowed into the ground, fleeing with absolute decisiveness.

When Hodu lowered his head to look, only a shallow pit was left in place, and Xuanwu had long since vanished without a trace.

Standing by the edge of the pit, he couldn't help but smile.

This was rather similar to a fish running amok, dragging the fishing line after biting the hook.

The bait was placed by him, the hook was already caught, and the line was also on Xuanwu.

Even if it ran to the ends of the earth now, Hodu could still track this line and find it back.

The next instant, Hodu cast Apparition again, his figure appearing in front of Xuanwu.

This time, the place where Xuanwu landed was no longer woodland, but the summit of a tall mountain.

Carrying that stone tablet on its back, it stood on the ridge, leisurely overlooking the mountain scenery below, as if thinking that as long as it ran fast enough, Hodu could do nothing about it.

Hodu reached out to touch the stone tablet on Xuanwu's back, his palm passing straight through without any obstruction.

He didn't stop, immediately urging Treasure Sensing, wanting to directly take out the things hidden inside.

However, after his perception spread out, it felt like hitting a non-existent wall, failing to touch anything at all.

That item was clearly put into some space isolated from reality, and he hadn't found the entrance to that space yet.

When he took the Philosopher's Stone out of the Mirror of Erised back then, he at least touched the mirror surface, which was equivalent to touching the door to that space.

Right now, he didn't even know where the door was, so reaching out to get things directly across a layer of space naturally couldn't succeed.

Hodu withdrew his hand, his gaze falling onto Xuanwu.

It seemed that the key to the problem was still this Xuanwu itself.

Thinking for a moment, he actively revealed his figure.

However, his soul was still tightly hidden and not exposed.

Hodu bent down and tried to pick Xuanwu up.

As a result, Xuanwu didn't budge an inch, as heavy as a whole boulder buried in the earth.

The scene was somewhat awkward, so Hodu had no choice but to let go and stand straight again.

Xuanwu also opened its eyes at this time.

This time it truly saw Hodu, exerting force with all four legs at once, forcefully turning its body carrying the stone tablet halfway around so that its front faced Hodu.

Then, it carefully sized up the person who had suddenly popped up in front of it.

Hodu was looking at it as well.

Xuanwu's eyes weren't large, but there was very obvious intelligence within them, which was by no means comparable to the human-headed snake-bodied magical creatures he had encountered before.

"You are not a descendant of the Liu family?"

A deep voice suddenly sounded, startling Hodu a little.

He quickly reacted that the one speaking was surprisingly the Xuanwu right in front of him, and the other party was even using modern language.

Hodu rolled his eyes and answered tentatively: "You could say that."

Xuanwu rolled its eyes on the spot, its movements so flexible that it didn't look like a moving stone at all.

"Were you also the person who came to look for me the past few times?"

It seemed as if it hadn't heard Hodu's previous answer at all, directly changing the question.

"That's right." Hodu answered very affirmatively this time.

Xuanwu stared at him for a moment and asked again: "What on earth do you want to do?"

It seemed completely unaware of what was hidden in the stone tablet on its back, only treating Hodu as an inexplicable person who came looking for trouble.

"To take something."

"If you want to take something, go find it. Why come looking for me?" Xuanwu's voice was muffled and thick, "If you keep following me, watch out or Grandpa Turtle will bite you to death in one gulp. With your scrawny frame, I can eat one in a gulp."

Finishing speaking, it deliberately put on a fierce look, its front paws scratching towards the ground again, obviously preparing to burrow into the ground and escape like last time.

Hodu didn't stop it, just standing to the side and watching.

Xuanwu scratched hard for a long time, and a small pit finally appeared on the ground.

But this pit was pitifully shallow; let alone Xuanwu, even an ordinary beast could easily scratch it out.

Xuanwu's movements gradually stopped.

It lowered its head to look at the pit, then looked at its own paws, bewilderment slowly emerging in its eyes.

What was going on? Where did its skills go?

Hodu still didn't make a sound, letting Xuanwu continue to try.

He wanted to see where Xuanwu could run after his earth-control and stone-excavation traits were stacked ten thousand times.

If it could still dig through the ground like this, that would be a true joke.

After scratching for a while longer, Xuanwu, which still couldn't find where the problem lay, had no choice but to stop.

It raised its head and asked with some embarrassment: "Why aren't you leaving yet?"

"Would you like me to give you a ride?" Hodu said casually.

Before his voice faded, he gently stomped his foot.

The ground under Xuanwu's feet suddenly sank, its entire body abruptly plunging down, half of its body directly buried in the soil.

Surrounding earth squeezed inward simultaneously, firmly trapping its movements.

Xuanwu's eyes widened all at once.

"Was this your doing?!"

Until this moment, it finally understood that it couldn't dig the ground not because there was a problem with its ability, but because Hodu had already controlled the surrounding earth and stones.

Hodu didn't answer, only asking: "Where on earth is the thing on you hidden?"

The expression on Xuanwu's face changed noticeably.

It clearly heard the meaning in Hodu's words, knowing that the other party had already grasped some situations.

Its eyeballs rolled around a few times, looking every bit like it was temporarily making up a story, preparing to fool Hodu.

However, before it could think of an excuse, Xuanwu suddenly moved all four paws together.

With a bang, the ground was forcefully broken open by it.

Carrying the stone tablet on its back, it rushed out in the blink of an eye, as fast as a black shadow.

Hodu was stunned at the sight.

Carrying such a large stone tablet, this Xuanwu could actually compare to the speed of a car when running.

Solely relying on his two legs to chase, he really might not be able to catch up.

Hodu didn't waste time anymore either, feeling out a small wooden sword from his clothes and raising his hand to throw it into mid-air.

The wooden sword grew larger against the wind, stopping beneath Hodu's feet.

He leaped forward, landing steadily on the sword body, and the peach wood sword immediately pierced through the air and sped away.

Not long after, Hodu caught up with Xuanwu, moving forward side by side with it.

Xuanwu just casually turned its head to look, and as a result almost popped its own eyeballs out.

It hurriedly changed direction, attempting to shake off Hodu with the help of the surrounding trees.

A dense forest soon blocked the front, and Xuanwu felt a burst of joy in its heart, thinking that this time it could finally make this annoying fellow slow down.

Yet the next moment, it saw an extremely absurd scene.

Hodu drove the peach wood sword rushing toward the big tree, without any intention of dodging at all, crashing directly into it with his whole person.

Xuanwu originally thought he was too fast and didn't have time to change direction.

Who would have thought that after Hodu collided with the tree trunk, his body actually passed right through the tree, like a formless phantom, without even the peach wood sword suffering the slightest obstruction.

Xuanwu's movements slowed down by a few fractions.

Hodu remained unhurried, sword-riding alongside it.

He had long since concealed all the surrounding trees, and the peach wood sword under his feet had also incidentally benefited from the Disillusionment Charm, naturally allowing it to pass directly through the forest.

"Y-Y-You, what kind of spell is this?" Xuanwu finally stopped, its voice full of disbelief.

"The Disillusionment Charm." Hodu said matter-of-factly, "Haven't you seen it?"

Xuanwu instantly lost its voice.

It certainly knew what the Disillusionment Charm was, but who could tell it when the Disillusionment Charm could already let people pass directly through tree trunks?

Silenced for a moment, Xuanwu seemed to finally recognize reality, asking in a muffled voice: "What on earth do you want?"

"The thing you hid."

"That's the Liu family's thing. I promised to keep it for them and cannot give it to you!" Xuanwu's tone was firm, and then it said as if sulking, "Forget it, do whatever you want. Anyway, you can't do anything to me. I'm going to sleep!"

Saying this, it sprawled flat on the ground, drew its four limbs in slightly, closed its eyes directly, and truly paid no more attention to Hodu.

Xuanwu had great confidence in its own defense.

It was Xuanwu; it didn't dare boast about other things, but thick skin was a fact.

Let alone a Wizard, even back then when fighting other magical creatures, it had never suffered losses.

Of course, the opponent couldn't break its defense, and it couldn't beat the opponent either, so in the end it often could only count as a draw.

Now putting on a posture of letting you toss and turn, it figured Hodu had no way either.

Seeing it simply lie flat, Hodu actually had no objections.

It was better if it didn't run.

He first tried it once on Xuanwu and found that he really couldn't directly take out the hidden things from the other party's body, so he put his attention back onto Xuanwu.

"Are you afraid of fire?"

"Hmph." Xuanwu closed its eyes, full of disdain, "Back then, even that brat Zhuque's fire couldn't do anything to me. Just by virtue of you?"

"Then take a look and see if my fire can burn you away."

Hodu's mouth curved up, turning his head to open his mouth toward the side, and gently exhaled a breath.

A crimson-red flame surged out with a roar.

At the very beginning, that was indeed just an ordinary flame. But Hodu didn't stop; the fire's momentum strengthened layer upon layer, and the temperature continuously climbed upward.

In the end, even the air made a bursting sound in the high temperature.

Xuanwu didn't care at all at first.

Just fire.

Yet listening to the increasingly abnormal commotion around, it finally opened its eyes and looked toward the flames.

At this glance, Xuanwu immediately froze.

The flames released by Hodu had already completed thousands of times of stacking, and their power was frighteningly strong.

If he hadn't intentionally suppressed it, the nearby woods would probably have been ignited by the high temperature long ago.

And that momentum of fire was still continuing to strengthen.

Xuanwu watched with staring eyes, its throat moving once, swallowing a mouthful of saliva with difficulty.

If this fire landed on its body, it was afraid that even its turtle descendants would be burned out.

"Actually... this matter is not completely unnegotiable."

Its tone softened on the spot.

The Xuanwu was indeed guarding treasures for the Liu family, but what it promised was to take care of things, not to risk its own life. Besides, the Wizard before it looked abnormal no matter how one looked at it.

Since when had Wizards become so outrageous?

Could it be that it had slept for too long, and the times outside had already changed?

Hearing it relent, Hodu gently inhaled, swallowing the sea of flames back into his body.

However, the Xuanwu's nerves did not relax because of this; instead, it watched him nervously, fearing that Hoduwould spit out that ball of fire again at any moment.

"Are you really a Wizard?" the Xuanwu asked suspiciously. "Or rather, are you actually some newly emerged race? Since when does a Wizard breathe fire from their mouth?"

"That's not important." Hodu sat cross-legged on the ground, his tone casual. "Let's talk about you first. How did you become the Liu family's mobile treasury?"

At the mention of this, a hint of annoyance crossed the Xuanwu's face.

"I was tricked once before," it said in a muffled voice. "I lost a bet with someone and could only agree to keep things for them. If they can find me in the future, bring the agreed-upon items, and use the Liu family's blood as a medium, they can take the things away."

"When was the last time they came to find you?"

The Xuanwu sank into recollection.

It seemed to be trying hard to calculate the years and months, but its eyes became more and more confused the more it thought, and finally it simply shook its head.

"I usually sleep all the time, how could I remember so clearly? Generally speaking, I have to sleep for several hundred years before waking up once." It paused, then added, "However, they haven't come to disturb me for quite a few times now."

Hodu's heart stirred.

Sure enough.

There was no such major surname as the Liu family in the Magical World today. Logically speaking, a family capable of treating a Xuanwu as a mobile clan treasury shouldn't be completely devoid of any reputation. Now that the Xuanwu only woke up once every few hundred years, and during this time the Liu family had never appeared, it was possible that the heritage had long been broken, and the descendants had no idea that there was such a clan treasury, or perhaps the people of the Liu family had all died out long ago.

Huo Yunqi had once said that there were plenty of major clans in history, but how many could truly be passed down continuously?

Hodu looked at the Xuanwu: "Have you ever thought that there might be no one left of them?"

The Xuanwu hesitated for a moment and slowly nodded.

Of course it had thought of this possibility.

But what did that have to do with it? Whether the Liu family was still around or not didn't affect its continued sleep. What it promised was merely that original agreement, which could hardly be considered deeply loyal, let alone guarding until the very end for the Liu family.

"Then now, the things inside your body belong to me. Any objections?" Hodu said directly.

The Xuanwu observed his expression and spoke cautiously: "Isn't this a bit inappropriate? I am a trustworthy Xuanwu. In case there are still people alive in the Liu family, if I give the things to you, wouldn't that be breaking my promise?"

It spoke earnestly, but its tone clearly left room for maneuver. As long as Hodu showed any dissatisfaction, it could change its tune at any time.

Hodu could see it, but he didn't expose it.

Anyway, what he wanted wasn't just the things inside the Xuanwu's body.

This Xuanwu looked much easier to raise than that Taotie. Being a mythical creature as well, if kept in a zoo, it might even be able to breed along the way.

"If someone really comes to look for you in the future, I'll just return the things to him."

"Well, what you say makes some sense." The Xuanwu immediately went down the steps, "Then let's do it this way."

It truly couldn't withstand that kind of flame from just now.

"First, give me that bone inside your body." Hodu extended his hand.

The Xuanwu suddenly widened its eyes, obviously not expecting that Hodu even knew about this.

"How do you know I'm hiding a Qiongqi leg bone?"

"Qiongqi?" Hodu frowned.

He was not unfamiliar with this name, but hearing that it wasn't the True Dragon remains he had expected, he felt somewhat disappointed in his heart.

"That's right," the Xuanwu said. "That thing doesn't belong to the Liu family. I bit it off raw from the Qiongqi when I fought it before."

Speaking of this matter, its face still carried a bit of displeasure.

"At that time, that guy wanted to eat me, but it couldn't do anything to me. Once I got angry, I bit down on it tightly and wouldn't let go, hanging onto its body for a long time. The leg bone left behind later was swallowed into my body."

"Not... a True Dragon's bone?" Hodu asked.

He had originally thought that what was hidden inside the Xuanwu would be True Dragon remains, but he didn't expect it to turn out to be just something left behind by a Qiongqi.

The Xuanwu looked at him with a strange gaze: "Of course not. How could there be my old man's bone in my body? What are you thinking?"

Old man?

Hodu's eyes widened instantly.

He had heard of the legend that the dragon gives birth to nine sons. Previously, he only regarded it as a mythological story, but he didn't expect this matter to actually be true. The Xuanwu's old man was actually a True Dragon.

"Besides, who has the ability to make my old man leave behind bones?" The Xuanwu felt more and more strange the more it spoke. "Who could beat it?"

These words stunned Hodu for a moment, and then his brows furrowed tightly.

"Why is it impossible? I've heard that someone picked up True Dragon remains."

The doubt on the Xuanwu's face suddenly turned into a smile.

"Hahaha, how hilarious." It was like hearing some absurd joke. "My old man left long ago, where would any remains come from?"

Hodu's expression changed slightly, and he quickly took out the few pieces of bone he had obtained previously, placing them in front of the Xuanwu.

"Are you sure there are no True Dragon bones in here?"

"How come you still don't understand?" the Xuanwu said helplessly. "It's impossible for my old man to leave behind bones."

It stared at those bones, and its tone gradually became serious.

"Those magical creatures in the mouths of you Wizards are all related to my old man to varying degrees. To put it directly, the source of magic today is it. Since everything originates from it, how could anyone have the ability to make it leave behind bones?"

The Xuanwu paused and continued: "Even the very first Wizard born to you appeared because they accidentally ingested my old man's life essence, causing their body to mutate."

"The root of all magic in the world lies in my old man."

"Other magical creatures were either created by my old man or left behind by my brothers. No matter how powerful they are, it's impossible for them to surpass my old man."

Sentence after sentence, the Xuanwu forcibly overturned Hodu's original understanding completely.

The source of magic turned out to be a True Dragon?

As for the departure mentioned by the Xuanwu, it wasn't leaving a certain forest, nor was it going to some other place, but flying out of Blue Star.

Back then, the True Dragon originally came to Blue Star from the universe. After passing by this place, it left behind its offspring. Those offspring inherited the True Dragon's temperament and continued to multiply on Blue Star. To this day, all magical creatures carried a trace of True Dragon bloodline to varying degrees, and even Wizards could not say they didn't have any at all.

It was just that compared to magical creatures, Wizards were more like products after being contaminated.

That kind of gene existed inside human bodies; some people became Wizards because of it, while others became Muggles. The bloodline did exist, it had just undergone changes.

According to the Xuanwu's statement, the True Dragonhad already left Blue Star thousands of years ago. It was impossible for it to die here, and naturally it wouldn't leave behind any remains.

Hodu was in a daze for a moment.

He never expected that Wizards were born this way. Fortunately, he was a time-traveler and not an indigenous person of this world, so it wasn't that difficult for him to accept. But if those Wizards knew about this history, their facial expressions would probably be quite wonderful.

The problem was, wouldn't that mean he had no True Dragon remains at all to fuse with?

"Of course," the Xuanwu suddenly changed the subject, "if we really talk about whether my old man left anything behind, it's not completely absent."

The hope that had just dimmed in Hodu's heart immediately lit up again, his gaze locked tightly onto the Xuanwu.

The Xuanwu said leisurely: "My old man shed its skin once before. That thing was basically divided up cleanly later on, and I also took the opportunity to eat quite a bit. However, there should still be some fragments remaining."

"For us, it's impossible for that kind of thing to have residue left. But you Wizards might not be the same. You weren't born directly relying on my old man's bloodline, and you have no way to eat it completely. Even if there were things left outside back then, they were just scraps."

"At that time, you Wizards weren't as strong as us and couldn't grab much at all. At most, you just picked up a few fragments that we finished eating and dropped on the ground."

Residue?

Hodu instantly had hope again in his heart.

As long as it was something left behind by the True Dragon, even if it was just a bit of scraps, it wouldn't hinder him from using it for fusion. Little as the things might be, their value wouldn't disappear because of that.

After listening to the Xuanwu finish telling this history, Hodu even conceived a thought.

Perhaps the True Dragon was the only S-grade life form that had ever appeared on Blue Star.

His gaze flickered slightly.

The things that the Bai family had always secretly hidden and were unwilling to let outsiders know about might just be the scraps left behind after those true dragon sheddings. Since it required such long texts to describe, the quantity definitely wouldn't be too much, and it might even only be a little bit of powder left.

Wanting to find it by relying on Treasure Perception would probably be quite difficult.

But this couldn't be considered bad news either.

Even Wizards couldn't directly digest the True Dragonresidue, which on the contrary showed that it was possible for it to be preserved until now. If he really couldn't find it, he could also try to make a deal with the Bai family.

Only, Hodu now dared not be certain whether the "treasure all over" trait on him after ten-thousand-fold stacking could suppress the True Dragon.

Previously he still felt that he was definitely stronger, but now it seemed that the True Dragon was, after all, an extraterrestrial species from the universe.

Chapter 73: The Secret of Xuanwu and Dumbledore's Probing

The more Hodu thought about it, the more he felt that negotiating a deal with the Bai family was the right path.

As for those two secret rooms he had sneaked into earlier, he wasn't sure at all whether they counted as the Bai family's true ancestral treasury.

With a mobile treasury like the Xuanwu right before his eyes, who could guarantee that the Bai family's secret storehouse was necessarily in the southwest?

Maybe it was hidden in the sky, or perhaps it was simply moved abroad.

If he really had to search through them one by one, it would literally work a person to death.

He no longer wanted to stay here, but before leaving, this Xuanwu had to be taken along.

Hodu raised his hand and grabbed the stone tablet on its back, activated his magic, and the two of them instantly appeared in the villa in Kyoto.

The Xuanwu turned its head to look around, disgust quickly appearing on its face.

"This place is impossible to sleep in."

Hodu, on the contrary, was amused inside.

It was even better if it couldn't sleep; he brought it back not to raise a turtle that would sleep for several hundred years.

If he really let it fall asleep, who knew if he could live until the next time it opened its eyes.

"Why do you always have to sleep?" Hodu asked, "With such a long lifespan, don't you feel it's a waste to spend it sleeping?"

The Xuanwu directly rolled its eyes, its tone very aggressive.

"You think I'm willing? I have to eat high-energy magical creatures, but I can't beat them, so I can only starve. What else can I do besides sleeping so I don't starve to death?"

This reason couldn't be simpler, and for a moment Hodudidn't know what to say.

He didn't continue to dwell on it, turning around and reverting to his original appearance.

When the Xuanwu saw his face clearly, its mouth widened instantly.

What shocked it wasn't that Hodu could use Transfiguration, but that this kid's age was truly outrageous.

It muttered inwardly that it had actually been threatened by a little brat, having lived for so many years in vain.

Hodu didn't notice its constantly changing face.

He stroked his chin, suddenly thinking of a possibility.

Since he had the trait of being a treasure from head to toe, who would dare say his energy would be low?

There was a golden cup on the living room table, and Hoducasually picked it up.

The cup rapidly changed shape in his palm, turning into a fruit knife in the blink of an eye.

The Xuanwu stared at the knife, completely not understanding what he wanted to do.

However, this hand of Transfiguration was indeed exaggeratedly proficient; it even suspected whether it had been dormant for too long, and Wizards today had already become strong to this extent.

"Open your mouth."

Hodu raised his hand above the Xuanwu, temporarily removing the Tough Skin trait, and the blade swept across his fingertips, a few drops of blood immediately falling.

Although the Xuanwu didn't understand his intentions, it instinctively opened its mouth and caught all the blood.

As soon as its tongue licked it, its eyes lit up instantly, its small eyes staring roundly, looking at Hodu in shock.

Too outrageous!

It shouted inwardly.

The energy contained in these few drops of blood was actually higher than the shed skin left behind by its True Dragon father.

How was this possible?

Could it be that its own old man had nothing better to do and used Transfiguration to turn into a kid and come tease it?

"Dad!"

Hodu was completely dumbfounded by this shout, looking at the Xuanwu in disbelief.

He had only bled a few drops, how did he inexplicably gain a turtle son?

"Bah!"

The Xuanwu reacted, so ashamed that its face could barely hold on.

It had actually blurted out acknowledging someone else as dad, truly damn it.

"Could you be one of those brothers of mine?" it asked with doubt, "Aside from my dad, they should be the only ones with this kind of astonishingly energetic magical blood."

"I'm a decent Wizard, and I have nothing to do with your dad." Hodu sat down on the sofa and neatly denied it.

He had no interest in claiming kinship with the Xuanwu.

"Then how is my blood?"

The Xuanwu smacked its lips, as if savoring the taste from just now, then solemnly nodded.

"Very delicious. Drinking it once, I probably won't need to sleep for several years."

Hodu nodded with satisfaction.

It seemed that no matter what, he met the standard of a high-energy magical creature.

Next, he began to ask what skills the Xuanwu had.

The Xuanwu originally wanted to propose a condition, saying it had to bite Hodu once before it would answer.

But upon seeing the dragon's breath flames exhaled by Hodu, it immediately changed its mind and decided to clear Hodu's doubts for free.

Hodu finally figured out the Xuanwu's method of hiding things.

There were no complicated means; it just swallowed things into its mouth.

Its body naturally contained a space.

What surprised Hodu even more was that this was also an honor-student turtle.

Inside the Xuanwu's body were stored quite a few books left by the Liu family for their descendants.

Its state when sleeping was very strange; it had flipped through those books I don't know how many times, and therefore understood Wizard magic better than Hodu.

Moreover, when it was dormant, it could still hear movements outside, which also explained why after sleeping for several hundred years, it could still speak quite standard modern language.

But Hodu didn't have much interest in those books.

No matter how precious they were, he was naturally an underachiever.

If he really ran into something he wanted to know, directly asking the Xuanwu was much more effortless.

"I've met a creature with a human head and a snake body before, with a particularly pretty face. What on earth is that thing?" Hodu remembered the magical creature he had encountered earlier and immediately asked.

The Xuanwu answered smoothly.

"What you described is most likely a Xuan snake. Anyone who has seen their faces will be mesmerized, feeling as though they have seen the prettiest person in the world. They will lure you close, and by the time you wake up, your body is usually bound to death. With their strength, you simply can't break free, and in the end, you'll be swallowed into their stomachs."

Hodu gasped in a breath of cold air upon hearing this.

This thing was indeed scary enough; perhaps only Wizards who had mastered Occlumency could withstand it.

But if he simply didn't open his eyes to look like dealing with a Basilisk, perhaps he could also avoid their temptation.

He asked about the second magical creature he had seen, whose appearance was very similar to Xuanming.

"That is Xuanming," the Xuanwu said, "It can switch between illusion and reality. When it turns into a phantom state, others simply can't hit it. It usually hunts in phantom state, and turns into reality when it's ready to strike."

Getting the answer, Hodu was very satisfied.

The Xuan snake clan didn't sound very easy to get along with, but Xuanming quite suited his taste.

When he had time someday, he would capture Xuanming and let it breed.

The sky here was already very late, and Hodu didn't plan to delay further.

After confirming that the Xuanwu didn't like eating people, he left with peace of mind.

When he returned to Hogwarts, it was almost time for dinner.

There was no shadow of Harry and the others in the dormitory, so he had to head to the Great Hall alone.

On the way, he happened to run into Dumbledore.

The other party came from the other end of the corridor, obviously also preparing to go downstairs for dinner.

Hodu's footsteps paused slightly, but he didn't show any abnormality, speaking very naturally.

"Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore nodded expressionlessly, unable to tell what he was thinking.

The two of them walked toward the Great Hall together.

Hodu didn't feel awkward; his pace neither sped up nor intentionally slowed down.

There was no reason to deliberately change his walking speed just to avoid Dumbledore.

Dumbledore obviously had the same thought, walking side by side with him leisurely.

No one spoke along the way until they were close to the Great Hall, when Dumbledore spoke first.

"Mr. Potter told me that that bottle of Potion was bought by you from a Potion merchant," he said, "I would like to express my gratitude to you on behalf of Frank and Alice."

"Neville is my classmate, and I just happened to have that kind of thing on hand," Hodu replied casually.

Frank and Alice, whom Dumbledore mentioned, were precisely Neville's parents.

"In St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, there are still quite a few patients whose conditions are similar to theirs," Dumbledore's voice lowered a bit, "If you encounter that Potion merchant again, I hope you can notify me."

"No problem. If I meet him again, I'll ask him if he's willing to sell lethe river water."

Hodu of course understood that Dumbledore must have long since concluded that the Potion was inseparable from him.

He simply leaked the name lethe river water, which could also be considered giving the other party a bit of a bottom line.

He didn't mind earning Galleons relying on lethe river water.

Money wasn't a difficult thing for him, but this kind of Potion was simply too simple to make.

Casually get a large vat of water, control the concentration well, and then spit a few mouthfuls of saliva into it, and you could brew a vat of lethe river water.

Such a business that was almost like picking up money, why wouldn't he do it?

Dumbledore's eyes flickered slightly, following Hodu's words to ask further.

"How much is the lethe river water prepared to be sold for? I think the Ministry of Magic is willing to pay for those patients."

But Hodu didn't state the price directly.

To make money from the hands of the Ministry of Magic, of course it couldn't be sold too cheaply.

"It depends on how many people need it. Over on the Potion merchant's side, they might allocate it according to the number of people."

Dumbledore nodded, already planning to talk to Fudgefirst.

If the Ministry of Magic was willing to spend money to solve the historical issues left behind by Lord Voldemort, Fudge would definitely be more than happy.

Before long, the two walked into the Great Hall.

Neither of them said a formal goodbye; Hodu walked straight toward the Gryffindor long table, while Dumbledore walked all the way to sit at the Professor's seat.

Hodu still didn't see Harry and the others, so he hurriedly ate some food and left.

Dumbledore raised his eyes to look at his retreating figure, a thoughtful expression on his face.

These past few days, on the surface he seemed to have done nothing, but in reality, he had investigated Hoduthoroughly through various channels.

The records showed that Hodu was just a very ordinary first-year student from a single-parent family.

His mother, Hannah Hope, used to be a student in Slytherin and transferred to the East during her sixth year.

She happened to avoid the period when Lord Voldemortand the Death Eaters were at their most rampant.

About a year or two after Lord Voldemort fell, she brought Hodu back to the British Magical World and opened a magical materials shop in Knockturn Alley.

No matter how one looked at it, there was nothing special about it.

Yet it was precisely such a child that left Dumbledore at his wit's end, and even made this old man of over a hundred years old feel terrified.

No matter how astonishing Lord Voldemort had been back then, he still had a process of growth and development.

Hodu, however, seemed to have those abilities born in him.

If Dumbledore hadn't sometimes extracted his memories and stored them in a Pensieve, he probably wouldn't have known to this day that he had been kept in the dark for so long.

The portraits of past Principals in the office might still remember what happened.

But they wouldn't necessarily bring it up on their own initiative, assuming only that Dumbledore didn't speak of it because he had his own arrangements.

It wasn't until he retrieved some of the forgotten memories from the Pensieve that Dumbledore realized he had actually stumbled over an eleven-year-old child.

He had lived for more than a hundred years, yet unwittingly he had been plotted against by a child, having his memories erased.

This feeling was almost as if his preceding years had been lived in vain.

He wasn't the only one affected.

He had tested McGonagall and Snape in private and found that they too had forgotten matters related to Hodu.

At that moment, Dumbledore's mood was hard to describe; even Lord Voldemort probably couldn't achieve this step.

Hodu had demonstrated Apparition when stealing the Philosopher's Stone, constantly transformed into different people during the Great Hall prank, and could silently make them forget things.

These were enough for Dumbledore to realize just how terrifying an eleven-year-old child could be.

Moreover, Dumbledore guessed that Hodu's transformation back then was mostly not caused by Polyjuice Potion.

Polyjuice Potion could maintain its effect for about an hour at a time.

But judging from that incident in the Great Hall, Hodu first imitated Quirrell in a very short time, then turned into Snape, and finally became Quirrell again, the whole process not exceeding an hour at all.

If he had truly relied on Polyjuice Potion, it would have been impossible to imitate continuously like this.

The effects of different Potions would conflict with each other, making doing such a thing extremely dangerous.

Dumbledore therefore suspected that what Hodu had mastered was extremely profound human Transfiguration, directly altering his appearance through Transfiguration.

To achieve this, one had to practice Transfiguration to a rather terrifying degree.

Among the people he knew, there was someone who could pull it off.

Gellert Grindelwald.

An eleven-year-old first-year student possessed Apparition capable of breaking through Hogwarts's Anti-Apparition Charm, had mastered profound human Transfiguration, and even knew a Memory Charm that even he couldn't detect.

At that instant, Dumbledore even felt that perhaps he should retire and learn from his old friend Nicolas Flamel.

Perhaps Hodu truly had astonishing magic talent, but Dumbledore was more inclined to believe that this was a kind of inherent magic ability he was born with.

Some people were born lucky, while others were born unfortunate, coming into the world with strange magictalents.

Just like Dumbledore's old friend Gellert, who was born a seer.

From birth, Hodu might already be comparable to Wizards who had immersed themselves in magic for many years, or even stronger than them.

This made even Dumbledore couldn't help suspecting whether Hodu was the reincarnation of Merlin.

Fortunately, it wasn't completely without news that made him breathe a sigh of relief.

At least Hodu was sorted into Gryffindor, which was different from Tom Riddle back then.

Perhaps this child didn't have such great ambitions.

More importantly, birds of a feather flock together.

The fact that Hodu could become friends with Harry and the others made Dumbledore quite gratified.

Back then, his temporary decision to assign Hodu to Harryand the others' dormitory was just a casual arrangement.

Now it seemed it was actually the wisest stroke.

Although Hodu had stolen the Philosopher's Stone and frightened Hogwarts's students quite a bit with a prank, leaving everyone with the habit of checking the password to this day, it was also he who pointed out the existence of Lord Voldemort.

Dumbledore didn't know how Hodu had discovered that Lord Voldemort was attached to Quirrell.

Moreover, Hodu even produced that lethe river water, claimed to be bought from a Potion merchant, and cured Neville's parents.

From this point alone, his character could be seen.

Precisely because of this, Dumbledore dared not make a rash move.

To this day, he still felt that Lord Voldemort embarking on that path back then was not completely unrelated to his own actions in the past.

He had sensed early on that Tom Riddle was not right, and had rejected and targeted him.

It was hard to say whether that might have pushed Lord Voldemort a bit further down that path.

Now facing a child even more talented than the former Tom Riddle or even Gellert Grindelwald, Dumbledoredared even less to act rashly.

Even though Hodu had taken away the Philosopher's Stone, he couldn't think of how to deal with it for a moment.

The Philosopher's Stone was originally handed to him by Nicolas Flamel.

In fact, when Nicolas Flamel handed it over, he had already given up on continuing to brew the Elixir of Life using the Philosopher's Stone.

Therefore, how to dispose of this Philosopher's Stonedepended entirely on Dumbledore's decision.

For now, he could only temporarily treat it as having lent the Philosopher's Stone to Hodu.

This was a compromise, and also a helplessness, but Dumbledore felt it necessary to do so.

That conversation just now also allowed him to test out another matter.

The so-called lethe river water bought from a Potionmerchant was most likely concocted by Hodu himself.

Even Severus couldn't analyze the ingredients of this Potion, yet it could produce a powerful therapeutic effect on the damage caused by Crucio.

Dumbledore even felt that if someone were to step forward as the inventor of this Potion, they would surely win the Order of Merlin.

After all, what it targeted was Crucio, one of the Unforgivable Curses.

When Hodu returned to the dormitory, Harry and the others had already returned, and Hermione was actually there too.

It was just that several of them were covering their mouths, their expressions more uncomfortable than the last.

"What's going on with you guys?" Hodu asked curiously.

Hermione said with a painful face, "Hagrid is simply too enthusiastic. After we forced ourselves to finish a rock cake, I feel like I need to ask for leave to go home and let my dad check my teeth."

"That thing is no different from stone in hardness," Roncomplained exaggeratedly, "I even suspect that what we ate was actual stones."

Only then did Hodu understand that they had gone to look for Hagrid.

"Hodu, I want to tell you a huge secret, you must not tell anyone."

Ron leaned close to his ear and lowered his voice, making Hodu's ears itch, "The thing that three-headed dog guarded earlier is the Philosopher's Stone. It can turn stone into gold and can also brew the Elixir of Life, but the Philosopher's Stone has already been stolen!"

"How do you guys know?" Hodu looked at the three of them with a look of suspicion.

For Hagrid to tell them about this, unless he slipped up again.

Harry continued to explain, "Hagrid let slip. Of course, we're just guessing. That three-headed dog is a pet raised by Hagrid, named Fluffy, and later it was sent back, temporarily placed in the Forbidden Forest. It was originally supposed to be used to guard the Philosopher's Stone, but now it's no longer needed—doesn't that mean the Philosopher's Stone is gone?"

"It must be Snape who did it!" Ron said with absolute certainty.

"It could also be Quirrell." Hodu immediately gave them a different direction, "Wasn't he already caught?"

"Then Quirrell is Snape's accomplice!"

Chapter 74 The Stone Tablet on Xuanwu's Back

Harry couldn't hide his resentment toward Snape at all, yet he had managed to find a seemingly quite sufficient excuse for himself.

Hodu didn't intend to correct him on this; since he had things to do tomorrow, he quickly lay down, drank the Dreamless Sleep Potion he had swiped from Madam Pomfrey in one go, and fell soundly asleep not long after.

When he opened his eyes again, his energy had fully recovered.

It was just before dawn outside the window; Hodu quietly got up, slipped on his Wizard robe, walked into the bathroom, and then cast Apparition, appearing inside the Kyoto villa.

The moment he materialized, he saw the Xuanwu curled up on the sofa.

This fellow was staring intently at the television, so absorbed as if the entire world had nothing to do with it, not even paying attention when Hodu arrived right beside it in the first place.

Judging by the look of it, it had most likely been watching continuously from last night until now.

However, since Xuanwu had slept for several centuries, it didn't seem necessary to treat sleeping as a daily routine anymore.

According to Xuanwu's own words, it wasn't as if no one had ever discovered it while it was slumbering.

There were Wizards and Muggles alike, but those people usually took it for a stone carving.

Some people even tried to move it away, presumably wanting to exchange it for money, but as long as Xuanwu used a certain ability, it could make itself ridiculously heavy, so no matter how many people came, they couldn't possibly lift it up.

This Xuanwu could burrow underground, make its body heavy, move with astonishing speed, store treasures within its body, and possessed a frighteningly long lifespan.

If he kept failing to find the true dragon shedding, Hoduhad even considered merging with it directly; perhaps this fellow could genuinely be counted as an S-class creature.

Of course, Xuanwu insisted that running fast wasn't an ability of its own, but simply running fast by nature.

"Didn't you read a lot of books while you were sleeping? Do you know how to brew a Potion?" Hodu asked it.

Xuanwu had clearly sensed his appearance long ago, but was simply unwilling to shift its attention away from the television.

Hearing this, it only then turned its head reluctantly and glanced at Hodu.

"I know a bit of theory. But surely you don't really want a turtle to brew a Potion, do you? I've read the books, but I haven't actually practiced it with my hands yet."

The meaning was very clear: the knowledge was there, but the experience was lacking.

But for Hodu, this was already enough.

He sat down beside the sofa, cupped Xuanwu's head with both hands, and forcefully wrenched it toward himself.

Xuanwu's head did turn over, but its two eyes were still struggling to glance toward the television, making Hodualmost want to turn off the TV directly.

"You drank my blood yesterday. What kind of Potion can my blood actually be used to make, and how are the effects?"

Since he was preparing to trade with his blood, he at least had to figure out how much this thing was worth first.

This time, Xuanwu finally deigned to withdraw its attention, its little eyes landing on Hodu.

"Give me a drop, and I'll tell you immediately."

Compared to the television, its interest in Hodu's blood was clearly much greater.

"Just a drop? Fine, put it on my tab first."

Hodu agreed readily, yet didn't forget to emphasize a point.

Xuanwu didn't object, and only then began to explain unhurriedly.

"Your blood is very pure, and the energy inside it is also sufficient.

Drinking it directly can replenish physical strength, with an effect similar to mine.

Besides that, it can indeed be used as a Potion material, and even used to research new formulas.

However, its most precious use isn't being the main ingredient, but acting as an auxiliary agent to directly push up the efficacy of a Potion."

Hodu's eyes lit up on the spot.

"How much can it push it up?"

Xuanwu's little eyeballs rolled around, pondered seriously for several minutes, and finally gave an extremely perfunctory answer.

"A lot, a lot."

The anticipation on Hodu's face instantly froze.

Yet Xuanwu felt that its answer was very persuasive and continued, "Two drops of blood are enough to let me let go and move around freely for several years.

Do you still think that's little?

I inherited quite a few abilities from Daddy, but the truly formidable one is actually longevity."

"I'm not as energetic as Daddy, so every time I move around, I have to pay a price.

Generally, I have to sleep for several centuries, and after waking up, I can toss about for a few months at most before having to fall back into a slumber.

As for those brothers of mine, they didn't inherit Daddy's longevity, so they're probably long gone."

Speaking of this, Xuanwu lowered its head slightly.

Seeing it look like this, Hodu thought he had touched upon the other's sad matter and quickly chimed in, "My condolences."

Xuanwu raised its head in puzzlement.

"You thought I was sad?" It asked with a baffled expression, "I just lowered my head a moment ago for convenience to sneak a peek at the TV.

I'd be too thrilled if those guys died; which of those fellows hasn't gnawed on my tortoise shell?

If it weren't for the fact that they couldn't bite through it, I would have let them eat me."

Hodu was left speechless on the spot.

The relationship between these dragon sons truly didn't look much like a family.

However, Xuanwu's words also made him realize that his blood was likely even more exaggerated than he had imagined.

A single drop of blood could match up to Xuanwu's millennia of slumber.

If it were used to enhance a Potion, let alone a thousand times, even if there were only several hundred to a thousand times, it would still be frightening enough.

Especially the Elixir of Life.

The biggest trouble with this kind of Potion was that its efficacy could only be maintained for a period of time.

If one wanted to maintain longevity by relying on the Philosopher's Stone, they had to drink it again after a while, and once the time came, they couldn't stop.

Precisely because of this, those people who relied on the Elixir of Life to prolong their lives could never shake off their dependence on the Philosopher's Stone.

But once the efficacy was boosted a thousand times, the interval between doses would also become prolonged accordingly.

If it originally could only be maintained for a month, a thousandfold increase would mean a full one thousand months, which translated to over eighty years.

Of course, the boost in efficacy might not strictly change according to this ratio.

Even if there was some attenuation during the enhancement process, it should at least be able to increase by a thousandfold, right?

A single dose of Potion could allow a person to live nearly a hundred years longer; which Wizard wouldn't empty their family fortune to buy it upon seeing it?

Thinking of this, Hodu couldn't help drawing a sharp breath.

His own blood was simply like copying the system's functions all over again.

The cost was merely shedding a bit of blood; if this thing was used sparingly, wouldn't it be able to last a lifetime?

Weren't scientists on the Muggle side also encouraging blood donation?

At most, he could only be considered as having donated slightly more; no matter how one looked at it, it couldn't count as a bad thing.

As a result, no matter what Potion it was put into, his blood had the potential to turn things into truly miraculous Potions.

Hodu rubbed his chin, feeling that he really should study Potion-making.

This subject was simply too important to him, but unfortunately he happened to be a poor student, and the Professor for Potion Class was none other than Snape; just thinking of that face made his interest in studying vanish completely.

Of course, this might also just be an excuse.

What if, and it was truly just a one-in-ten-thousand possibility, he actually just simply didn't want to learn?

Some Potions that could enhance thinking ability, if added with his blood, might turn into truly miraculous Potions.

But when Hodu turned his head to look at Xuanwu, who was still staring at the television, he suddenly felt that instead of struggling and exhausting himself with research, it would be better to directly cultivate a Xuanwu that knew how to brew Potions.

Wouldn't that be even less troublesome?

One could only say that this fellow got off easy.

The value of his blood had already been figured out, and Hodu gained a few more points of certainty regarding the upcoming trade.

As long as their brains weren't damaged, who would refuse this kind of thing?

However, for safety's sake, he certainly wouldn't take a drop of blood with a ten-thousand-fold stacked effect out to trade.

That drop from before had boosted it by about two thousand times; it could only be blamed on himself being young at the time and not understanding the preciousness of blood.

Thinking about it now, it hurt his heart just a little bit.

But things that had already been given away couldn't be taken back, so Hodu could only accept it.

Just as he was preparing to leave, Xuanwu suddenly turned its head and spoke with a bit of embarrassment, "Right, can you help me get the stone tablet off my back?"

Hodu was momentarily stunned.

He had previously genuinely thought that the stone tablet was something Xuanwu carried naturally since birth, and didn't expect it could actually be removed.

Thinking about it now, of course this couldn't possibly be something growing on the tortoise shell.

"Why did you put this thing on yourself in the first place?"

"In the past, there was a Wizard surnamed Liu who competed with me to see who could hold out longer while carrying a stone tablet," Xuanwu recalled.

"I won, and from then on their Liu Clan would be responsible for covering my meals.

As you know, if you don't want to sleep, you have to keep eating; this condition had a huge temptation for me."

"If I lost, I would have to become the guardian beast of their Liu Clan and protect them for generations upon generations."

Speaking of this, it added quite smugly, "Carrying things is my strong suit.

Let alone a stone tablet, even if a mountain were pressed onto my tortoise shell, I could bear it."

"So you agreed?" Even though Hodu clearly knew the answer, he still asked it deliberately.

"Of course."

Xuanwu answered unhesitatingly.

This bet had completely occupied the advantage to begin with.

Being both skilled at weight-bearing and having a long lifespan, logically speaking, no one could possibly persist longer than it.

"Then did you win?" Hodu asked.

Xuanwu's expression instantly turned complicated.

"Not quite, the result hasn't been decided yet."

"That Liu Wizard did carry it for a lifetime.

I originally thought that as long as I outlasted him until he died, I would be considered the winner, but who knew he kicked the bucket after just a few years?" Xuanwu said.

"I went to check later, and his clansmen used magic to keep his bones from decaying and even nailed the stone tablet to his back.

I heard this was arranged by that Wizard before his death."

Hodu drew a sharp breath on the spot.

This wasn't a contest of endurance at all; it was clearly digging a pit in advance.

That Wizard surnamed Liu probably knew early on that he couldn't hold out for long, which was why he came up with this method.

"Then you still haven't put down the stone tablet until now? Just because of the bet? You actually keep your word like this?"

Only then did Hodu figure out why Xuanwu had always been carrying it.

According to the bet, as long as Xuanwu put down the stone tablet first, it would be equivalent to admitting defeat, and subsequently it would have to become the guardian beast of the Liu Clan.

If it were Hodu, he would have long ignored whatever bet it was.

Being screwed over like this and still managing to hold back from retaliating was already considered having a good temper; where was the logic in continuing to carry the stone tablet to play along with them?

"I'm not that trustworthy," Xuanwu said irritably.

"It's just that at the time, in order to make both sides abide by the agreement, a contract directly involving the soul was made.

Rather than letting the soul be damaged, it's better to just keep carrying it to save trouble."

Hodu listened and clicked his tongue repeatedly.

From the very moment the bet was signed, Xuanwu seemed to have been calculated down to the last detail, and no matter how one looked at it, it didn't seem like it could take advantage.

"Then aren't you afraid of soul damage now? Could it be that my blood can even heal souls?"

"Of course not." Xuanwu raised its head, its tone full of arrogance, "How could that skeleton possibly remain undecayed for a millennium? I won long ago.

It's just that I've carried this thing for too long and couldn't be bothered to take it off.

Besides, even if I hadn't won back then, that contract would have long since expired; what kind of magic can last for over a thousand years?"

Only then did it dawn on Hodu.

Xuanwu had purely won this bet thoroughly through longevity.

On the surface, it looked like it had been calculated by the Liu Clan for a lifetime, but in reality, it suffered not a single loss itself.

On the contrary, that Liu Clan family had probably long since vanished into history.

Hodu gave it a thumbs-up.

"Impressive."

Removing the stone tablet was not difficult for Hodu at all.

With a thought in his mind, the power of Rock and Sand Control immediately cut in along the junction between the stone tablet and the tortoise shell, severing the connection between the two on the spot.

Hodu reached out, picked up the stone tablet, and moved it to a corner of the living room.

No matter what, this thing was an antique; throwing it away casually would be far too wasteful.

Furthermore, in the books stored inside Xuanwu's body, the character "Han" frequently appeared.

The more Hodu looked at it, the more he felt that this stone tablet might very well have a history of two thousand years, making it even less possible to treat it as an ordinary stone.

After losing the stone tablet, Xuanwu looked much sleeker.

It wasn't very big itself, just about the size of an adult wrapping their arms around it.

Hodu thought about it, had Xuanwu run outside the living room, and first cast Aguamenti on it.

But after the stream of water washed over it for half a day, it had almost no effect; presumably the grime had accumulated on its body for too long, and ordinary cleaning magic simply couldn't get it clean.

Thus Hodu directly conjured a brush and started scrubbing Xuanwu's tortoise shell bit by bit.

This scrubbing lasted for a long time, and finally it was barely scrubbed clean.

Hodu returned to the sofa to rest for a while, while Xuanwu continued watching television with satisfaction, as if the one who had just been scrubbed wasn't itself at all.

Half an hour later, Hodu stood up again, transformed back into his usual appearance, locked onto his location, and cast Apparition, appearing directly at United Academy.

He immediately used Treasure Perception to search for Huo Yunqi, only to find that the other party wasn't in the academy at all.

The direction of his perception fell to the southeast.

Relying on the power of Apparition, Hodu constructed a map in his mind and quickly confirmed that Huo Yunqi was currently in the southeast coastal area, and that place was precisely the Wizard settlement he had seen before.

Hodu wasn't unfamiliar with this, and his brows quickly smoothed out.

Huo Yunqi had stayed in Kyoto previously because he had to attend school there.

In the entire Magical World, United Academy was the only place where people could pursue their studies, so naturally he had to stay in Kyoto normally.

As for the Five Great Clans, they were originally wealthy gentry of various Wizard settlements, and the southeast coast was precisely the territory of the Huo Clan.

It seemed Huo Yunqi had gone home.

As for whether the other party had gone home or not, Hodu didn't care.

He locked onto his location again, and his figure immediately vanished from the spot.

The next moment, he appeared on an ancient street.

People were coming and going in the street, and the surrounding Wizards didn't show any surprise at Hodu's sudden appearance.

This was clearly a commercial street; both sides were filled with buildings, the road surface was somewhat wider than the one in Kyoto, yet the ancient buildings on the left and right were pressed very low, mostly only one story high.

Looking further into the distance, one could see a large complex of brightly colored buildings.

The outer circle consisted of buildings and towers, while the inside seemed connected to a vast expanse of structures, surrounded by the tall buildings on the outer perimeter, appearing somewhat uncoordinated with the ancient street here.

Hodu withdrew his gaze, swept his eyes across the crowd, and quickly found Huo Yunqi.

The other party was strolling leisurely, followed by several girls whose ages were obviously younger.

Hodu immediately walked toward him.

Huo Yunqi completely didn't notice anyone approaching; after all, there were really quite a few people on the street.

When Hodu threw an arm around his shoulder, Huo Yunqiinstinctively put on a stern face and wanted to break free without even seeing clearly what the person coming looked like.

But that hand was locked on firmly, so he could only turn his head to look over.

After recognizing Hodu, astonishment instantly surfaced on Huo Yunqi's face.

"Why did you run all the way here?"

"I came specifically to find you." Hodu answered as a matter of course.

Several girls nearby looked over with curiosity.

"Cousin, who is he? Is he your friend?"

Hearing what they called Huo Yunqi, Hodu understood immediately.

So these young girls also shared the surname Huo and were Huo Yunqi's younger paternal cousins.

"Since he's a friend, aren't you going to introduce him?" Hodu asked with a smile.

Huo Yunqi's expression changed slightly.

How could he dare introduce Hodu? A paternal uncle who had already been expelled from the Huo Clan—if outsiders found out he was hanging out with such a person, goodness knows what kind of rumors would spread behind his back.

Although his grandfather would still go sweep the grave of Hodu's father during holidays and festivals, that didn't mean the two families could truly interact like ordinary relatives.

Expelled meant expelled; this matter couldn't be faked.

"He is my friend," Huo Yunqi hurriedly spoke up, "You girls go stroll around on your own first; whatever you like, put it on my tab, and I'll reimburse you later.

But I won't be responsible for things that are too expensive."

Upon hearing this, the several girls immediately became happy.

"Hehe, Cousin Bufan is the best!"

Their voices immediately became louder.

How could Huo Yunqi dare delay any longer?

He grabbed Hodu and walked off to the side, constantly turning back during the process to make sure his paternal cousins weren't following behind.

Chapter 75 Visiting Bai Chen in Poison Bee Valley

"It is not that I deliberately refuse to introduce you." Huo Yunqi lowered his voice, his expression somewhat unnatural. "Your status is right there. According to the clan rules, a person whose name has been removed cannot return to the clan territory."

Although both he and Hodu were considered direct descendants of the main family, the clan rules were not just put on display for looks.

Taking someone around privately was one thing, but openly breaking the rules was another.

Hodu did not take the matter to heart, his gaze still lingering on the receding figures of those few girls.

"Who are those lasses?"

"One of them is a paternal cousin from our branch, and the remaining two come from the second branch." Huo Yunqianswered quickly. "They usually hang out with me."

Hodu did the math in his mind.

One granddaughter from his eldest uncle's family and two granddaughters from his second uncle's family were all a generation lower than him.

Provided that he was still considered a member of the Huo Family.

However, there was no point in calculating this generational account.

"I have something to find you for." He swept his gaze over the passing crowd. "Find a place where we can talk."

"Alright, I will take you over."

Huo Yunqi immediately took the lead, walking forward along the street while telling Hodu about the situation of the Huo Clan territory.

The so-called clan territory certainly had a big tone to it, but it referred to this entire area where Wizards gathered, all under the control of the Huo Clan.

In the beginning, this place did not have its current scale at all.

After the Huo Clan moved here, they gathered popularity little by little, gradually turning into a large Wizardsettlement.

The earliest residents here were all Wizards with the surname Huo, and later people with outside surnames moved in successively.

In the past, this was called Huo Family Village, and now it had been changed to the Huo Clan territory.

Here, the word of the Huo Clan was the rule.

Of course, that was before the appearance of the Wizards Federation.

After the establishment of the Federation, the entire Magical World had to operate according to the resolutions of the Federation.

Even so, apart from the regulations recognized by the Wizards Federation and the Four Departments, this place still retained a set of Huo Clan rules.

The area surrounded by buildings that Hodu saw earlier was where the Wizards with the surname Huo lived.

It occupied nearly half of the entire settlement, and privately it was still called Huo Family Village.

Outside Huo Family Village connected an old street, which was precisely the commercial street for doing business.

The storefronts on the street had to pay rent and taxes to the Huo Clan every year, and how thick their family fortune was could be seen without detailed explanation.

Among them, the largest stores in scale were even industries belonging to the Huo Clan itself.

Dwellings were scattered around the commercial street, and the residents were basically Wizards with outside surnames.

Not long after walking, Huo Yunqi led Hodu into a Teahouse.

Placed in the British Magical World, entertaining people would mostly involve entering a pub.

Yet here it was obviously different, and the Teahouse also had its own ways.

Hodu had also seen a few pubs along the way; it was not that there were none here, but Huo Yunqi chose a place for drinking tea.

The two went up to the second floor and entered a private box.

The furnishings in the room were all antique in appearance, and placed in ancient times, no matter how one looked at it, it was not a place that ordinary people could casually enter.

In a short while, the waiter brought a teapot and several kinds of desserts.

On the surface, there was not much difference from the things used to entertain guests in ancient times.

The next moment, the teapot floated into mid-air by itself, the body of the pot tilted slightly, and hot tea flowed towards the cup.

Not a single bit of tea residue was visible in the cup, but water vapor rose straight up.

"The tea leaves are picked from a magic tea tree, and they have to go through several procedures of stir-frying afterwards." Huo Yunqi began to introduce, "The taste is quite different from the ordinary tea that ordinary people drink. Have a taste."

He felt that Hodu had most likely never drunk this kind of tea.

After all, this person previously didn't even know what a peach wood sword was.

Hodu was not in a hurry to discuss serious matters either. He picked up the teacup and brought it to his lips with considerable interest.

Yet just as the tea was about to enter his mouth, he suddenly stopped and glanced sideways at Huo Yunqi.

Could this thing possibly be poisoned?

Huo Yunqi was watching with a smile, looking as if he was very much looking forward to him drinking it quickly.

Although Hodu had Tough Skin, that thing didn't care whether one was poisoned or not.

Speaking of which, his relationship with Huo Yunqi was inherently delicate.

Looking polite on the surface, turning hostile and backstabbing was not entirely impossible.

After all, he wasn't a real uncle in the true sense, at least with their relationship laid out here, blood ties sometimes might not necessarily be useful.

But since it was already raised to his lips, he certainly couldn't show cowardice in front of the other party.

Hodu raised his wrist and swallowed the tea into his mouth in one gulp.

At the same time, he had already activated the Devouring Trait.

Regardless of whether it was poisonous or not, he could digest it completely and directly.

It was just that because of this, the initial thought of tasting what the magic tea leaves actually tasted like was completely wasted.

"How does it feel?" Huo Yunqi asked full of anticipation.

"Not bad." Hodu smacked his lips, pretending as if he had truly tasted the flavor.

He leaned against Huo Yunqi's opposite side and changed the topic with a forced smile.

"With so many students in the United Academy, and it doesn't look like a holiday, why did you run back? Could you be hiding from me?"

"How could that be." Huo Yunqi hurriedly denied, "Recently, the clan is going to worship the ancestors, and people from the main branch have all been called back. It is not just the Huo Clan; the other families are the same."

This remark was not perfunctory.

Not to mention the students in the academy, even adult members of the Huo Clan had to return right now.

Therefore, the Huo Clan territory had suddenly become exceptionally lively during this period.

Of course, having the surname Huo did not mean one was qualified to return for ancestor worship.

Ancestor worship itself was a privilege enjoyed by the main branch.

As for how the main branch was defined, the descendants of the line of that clan leader who led the Huo Clan to move to this place back then were all included.

Calculated this way, the number of people was actually not small.

Hodu did not expect that Wizards also retained customs similar to ordinary people.

But thinking about it, it made sense; the Huo Clannowadays relied on bloodlines to maintain itself, so ancestor worship naturally wasn't rare.

Anyway, this matter had nothing to do with him.

Who told him that his name had long been off the clan genealogy.

"Do you know people from the Bai Family?" Hodu cut straight to the point.

"I know them." Huo Yunqi answered without hesitation.

"What about the direct descendants of the Bai Family?"

"I know them too."

Hodu stared at him and continued to ask, "The kind who can call the shots?"

Huo Yunqi instantly got stuck, his gaze becoming somewhat weird.

Wasn't this purely making things difficult for someone?

Those who could make decisions in the Bai Family were naturally the direct descendants.

Yet the direct descendants truly qualified to make the final call were all of a higher generation than him.

Where could he go to get acquainted with them?

He had seen them, of course—who hadn't seen a few elders in clan occasions?

But when running into them, he would just call them uncles, and whether they would pay attention to him alone was really hard to say.

Counting further up, the only one who could truly make decisions was probably the Bai Family head.

Although Huo Yunqi was a direct descendant, when all was said and done, he was still a junior. How could he have the qualification to know such figures?

Seeing him look like this, Hodu knew the answer and didn't find it strange.

"I want to discuss a business deal with the Bai Family, and I need your help to bridge the connection." He said frankly.

"Business?" Huo Yunqi obviously breathed a sigh of relief, "For ordinary trade, those direct descendants of the Bai Family can make decisions."

As long as it didn't require the Bai Family head to step forward in person, those peers of the Bai Family he knew could always come in handy.

Among them, some direct-line peers were already being cultivated as heirs and were also touching upon the clan's business.

If there were no accidents in the future, they would most likely become the Bai Family head, which was about the same situation as his eldest brother.

Their relationship could not be considered close, but at least they could exchange a few words.

For matters like discussing business, it didn't necessarily have to be close friends.

"I want the True Dragon remains of the Bai Family." Hodu's voice was very soft, and his face was still calm.

These few words drilled into Huo Yunqi's ears, but they were like a thunderclap in a clear sky.

"Pfft!"

He spat out a mouthful of tea on the spot.

Hodu raised an eyebrow, and a fierce wind swept out casually.

That patch of tea flying toward him rolled backward in the blink of an eye, splashing all over Huo Yunqi's face and body intact.

Yet Huo Yunqi couldn't care less about this bit of embarrassment, nor did he have the mind to care about the wondrous magic Hodu had just displayed.

He stood up abruptly, his face full of disbelief.

"What did you just say?"

Hodu did not say it again.

He was very clear that Huo Yunqi hadn't failed to hear clearly, but simply didn't dare to believe it at all.

"You heard it."

"Do you know what you are saying!" Huo Yunqi's eyes widened, feeling that Hodu's brain must have something wrong with it, daring to blurt out whatever words came to mind.

"Of course I know." Hodu was still unhurried, even carrying a hint of blame, as if Huo Yunqi's panic was overly discourteous.

By this time, Huo Yunqi finally determined completely that Hodu was not teasing him.

This person was serious.

He instead became more convinced that Hodu had gone mad.

Could it be that someone had cast a magic on him recently, driving him completely insane?

Anyone with a little bit of brain should understand what status the True Dragon remains held in the Bai Family.

As long as these words were spoken in front of the people of the Bai Family, the other party would definitely take them as a provocation, and falling out would be considered a light consequence.

Yet Hodu spoke so matter-of-factly, so crazily that Huo Yunqi didn't know how to evaluate it for a moment.

"I am talking about a trade, not an open robbery," Hodusaid with a chuckle. "As for being scared like this? You are the future patriarch of a clan, after all, this is far too unseemly."

Huo Yunqi's expression instantly became even uglier than before.

He hurriedly looked around the private box, his voice lowered to the extreme.

"Stop talking nonsense! This is the Huo Clan Teahouse, and it's also the clan's property. We don't even know if there is eavesdropping magic here, and if someone really hears us, both of us will be in big trouble!"

Hodu, however, wore an indifferent expression.

"Even if we are heard, what can happen? I am not a member of the Huo Clan. At worst, I will really push you up, and don't tell me you have never had that thought."

These words were not just casual bragging.

If someone really came to catch them for eavesdropping, Hodu would not obediently capture without a fight.

He had no name in the Huo Clan genealogy and had no feelings for the Huo Clan. If it really came to that point, what would it matter to overturn the entire Huo Clan?

It just so happened that Huo Yunqi could not contact the Bai Family patriarch nowadays.

Pushing him to the position of the Huo Clan patriarch would naturally allow him to justly deal with the Bai Family patriarch.

Huo Yunqi's expression shifted back and forth, clearly not daring to pick up this topic again.

He felt that if they kept talking, Hodu might say anything shocking.

It wasn't like there hadn't been struggles for the succession in the clan before, but on the surface, the clan rules absolutely did not allow it.

If one really wanted to fight for that position, they had to first master most of the power within the clan.

Succeeding meant glory, and losing meant losing one's life.

Had Huo Yunqi never dreamed such a dream? Who hadn't?

But Hodu was only an eleven-year-old child after all.

In Hodu's eyes, the struggle for succession seemed to be as simple as raising a hand to accomplish, nothing more than a child's arrogance.

He couldn't and didn't dare to truly take these words seriously.

"Let's talk about the Bai Family instead," Huo Yunqihurriedly dragged the conversation back.

Compared to the struggle for succession, this topic actually made him much more at ease.

"Very well," Hodu nodded. "As long as it is an item, there is nothing that cannot be used for exchange. It's just that the price is not enough. But what I have in my hands is enough to exchange for the True Dragon remains."

In fact, that might not even be considered true True Dragonremains.

At most, it was just a bit of residue left behind after true dragon shedding.

Changing the phrasing made it sound immediately less intimidating.

After listening, Huo Yunqi's emotions finally calmed down slightly, and he looked at Hodu in astonishment.

"What is your bargaining chip?"

"You have seen it," Hodu said faintly. "That drop of blood given to the Yu Family before."

Huo Yunqi sat back down and began to ponder.

The Yu Family's reaction at that time was enough to show that that drop of blood was definitely not an ordinary item.

Recently, the Yu Family's contact with him had also become more and more frequent, as if they couldn't hold back anymore.

Yet they never said what they had researched out.

Every time he asked, they would change the subject with words.

If they really hadn't researched anything out, they wouldn't be getting more anxious day by day.

"What on earth can that drop of blood do?"

Hodu thought for a moment and still told him the answer.

After all, he still needed Huo Yunqi to contact the Bai Family for him later, so he should let the other party clear on what the bargaining chip to take for negotiations was.

"It can enhance the efficacy of any Potion."

Huo Yunqi's eyes lit up: "How much can it enhance?"

"Far beyond your imagination," Hodu said very steadily. "Enough to drive people crazy."

He didn't report an exact number, because he actually couldn't explain it clearly himself.

The statement given by Xuanwu was also vague.

Huo Yunqi's eyes, however, widened more and more.

Far beyond imagination, just how big is it? Five times? Ten times?

In his view, if the efficacy of ordinary Potion could increase by a few tenths, it would already be considered pretty good.

If it was said to far exceed imagination, it probably had to be calculated by multiples.

Doubling it already belonged to a rare treasure, but it was still not enough to make people crazy.

What about five times? Five times was enough to make the Potion efficacy undergo a qualitative change, but compared with the True Dragon remains, it still seemed to lack a bit of meaning.

Ten times was already the limit Huo Yunqi could imagine.

"I…" Huo Yunqi only spat out one word and stopped again.

He still felt that as long as he dared to propose such a trade to any Bai Family member, the lighter consequence would be being cursed bloody, and the more serious one might lead to a duel on the spot.

Hodu saw that he lacked courage and was quite disappointed that he failed to live up to expectations.

"Don't view the Bai Family's True Dragon remains so magically." He directly pointed out, "That is not True Dragon remains at all, just a bit of leftover stuff after true dragon shedding. Besides, whether the Bai Family still has it now, no one can say for sure."

Indeed, he couldn't be sure either. The Bai Family having it in the past did not mean they still kept it today.

"Ah?" Huo Yunqi opened his mouth with a face full of astonishment.

Seeing Hodu speak so firmly, he couldn't help but believe it a bit.

The residue left behind during shedding—this title suddenly plummeted from the sky to the ground.

"I can go and try," Huo Yunqi quickly made a decision.

If it were truly some town-clan supreme treasure, he really wouldn't be able to open his mouth.

But if it was just this kind of thing, what was there that couldn't be discussed?

"Then when are you planning to go over?" Hoduimmediately pursued the question.

"After the ancestral worship ends, I suppose. At the fastest, it will take three days," Huo Yunqi said helplessly. "If I dare to run away at this time, my dad will beat me to death."

Hodu, however, could not wait three days.

Passing a message required waiting three days, and if it dragged on afterwards, wouldn't it drag on for half a month?

"Go now. I will send you back before dark."

He did not give Huo Yunqi room to continue hesitating.

Since he could come out shopping, how could he say he had no time.

If things went smoothly, it wouldn't even take an hour.

Hodu stood up, and his figure changed accordingly.

In the blink of an eye, he had become the appearance of one of Huo Yunqi's underlings.

Back during that sword-flying match at the stone tower, he had won wearing this face.

Huo Yunqi looked at him in shock.

He had been suspicious before, but now he finally confirmed that this could never be the transformation caused by a Polyjuice Potion.

"What?" Hodu let out a laugh. "Have you never seen human Transfiguration?"

As he spoke, he stepped forward, placing his palm on Huo Yunqi's shoulder.

Before Huo Yunqi could react, the figures of the two had already disappeared from the private box.

When they reappeared, they landed on a street.

This was a Wizard gathering place in the southwest, and also the territory of the Bai Family.

The Bai Family's gathering place was not called the Bai Clan territory; its name was Poison Bee Valley.

Poison Bee Valley was similarly divided into two layers, inner and outer, with the inner circle being Bai Family Village.

Hodu first looked at the surrounding buildings, judged the general layout of the outer and inner circles, and instead of directly taking Huo Yunqi to break into the inner circle, landed on an outer street.

Just as Huo Yunqi had said earlier, all families had been worshipping their ancestors recently, and Poison Bee Valley also appeared very lively.

Huo Yunqi steadied his mind. After recognizing the surrounding scenery and confirming that this really was Poison Bee Valley, his expression suddenly turned somewhat bitter.

But since he had already come, he could only accept his bad luck.

He led Hodu toward Bai Family Village.

There were guards set up at the village entrance, similar to the situation at Huo Family Village.

Fortunately, Huo Yunqi had some face; the guards verified his identity and let the two in.

Hodu continued to disguise himself as an underling, honestly following behind Huo Yunqi.

The two walked through the village and finally stopped outside a luxurious mansion courtyard.

Huo Yunqi raised his hand to grab the door knocker and knocked twice.

A thumb-sized bronze sparrow stood on the door knocker. Originally a lifeless object, it suddenly came to life.

It tilted its head to look at Huo Yunqi, then turned back, leisurely tidying the feathers on its back with its bird beak.

"Please announce me to Brother Bai Chen," Huo Yunqi said softly to it, speaking very formally. "The fifth direct descendant of the Huo Clan main branch has come to pay a visit, and he wants to discuss a big business deal with him."

As soon as the voice fell, the bronze sparrow hopped and turned around, drilled into a square small hole next to it that was just big enough for it to pass through, and then spread its wings and flew away.

"Bai Chen is the eldest of the Bai Family's direct lineage, of the same generation as me," Huo Yunqi lowered his voice and explained to Hodu. "However, his status is much higher than mine."